Welcome back y’all. I hope your weekend was restful and trouble free. Shall we begin a new week of writing?
Today’s topic is….making it as a freelance writer.
Two tips for you today. Follow them…don’t follow them…I’m just tossing this stuff out there in hopes that some of it will help you.
#1 As a freelancer, nonfiction pays better than fiction. Even if you are a fiction writer, you might want to consider turning to nonfiction for a regular paycheck. The reason is simple: people want to know things before they want to be entertained, and those who publish magazines understand this truth. Check out magazines online or in a bookstore and you will see the truth in this….most articles are nonfiction and they answer a question.
#2 Gain some credentials by getting published somewhere, and the easiest market to get established in is the online magazine market. You may not get paid for a lot of these gigs, but you will get a byline, and bylines are incredibly important as you build your writing platform. You may all want to be published in Ladies Home Journal, or Cosmopolitan, but the reality is that when you are starting out the odds are against you. Your odds increase greatly if you are a published writer….so start small and work your way up the ladder of success.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.”
C. S. Lewis
Making it as a freelancer takes a lot of work, determination, and a willingness to learn…and that means learning from your mistakes and miscues as well as from your victories. Freelance writing is a numbers game; for every article you get published you will be rejected dozens of times. The good news is you will get better at the process. The bad news is that experiencing failure is a must.
PROMPT OF THE DAY
Have fun with the picture. A little writing exercise if you will. What do you see? Write a quick paragraph about it and maybe inspiration will come your way.
CONTEST OF THE DAY
Family Circle Fiction Contest is accepting submissions now and it is absolutely free. It runs through September 16th and three submissions per person max. You can find it here.
SITE OF THE DAY
Writers Village has an online fourteen week course to improve your writing and increase your chances of being published and…..IT IS FREE. Follow the link here to enroll…what do you have to lose?
THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY
Hey, I’ve got tons to do, so that’s all I have for you today. Remember what I said at the outset of this posting….start small…start online….and most importantly, never give up.
Bill
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 